Super Eagles captain, Joseph Yobo, is confident his side will put their experience against Sierra Leone to good use when they host Ethiopia in a Nations Cup qualifier next month. He told Ijaw Boy that the Eagles would not let Wednesday’s nervy performance deter them.
Are you disappointed that the Super Eagles could not easily overrun the Leone Stars?
No, I’m not disappointed. As a matter of fact I’m satisfied with my performance and the most important thing was that we won the game.
They gave us a good fight and I’m happy because this gave us a big boost ahead of the game against Ethiopia.
But you must be disappointed that your team conceded a goal so late in the game…
The goal we conceded was unfortunate. After the substitutions were made, we lost our shape which was not good for us.
We’ll be more formidable when the full squad regroups. We are gradually getting used to each other.
Could you tell us briefly how convincing Siasia’s plans were when he met with you in Turkey?
We spoke at length on the transformation he intends to bring into the team and as the captain of the team, I saw it as a duty to back him up with all the necessary support he could get from me and the players.
He is well experienced on the job; he’s the coach and I’m a player in the team but it’s a collective responsibility on our part to help the team back to its glorious heights again.
We share opinions and views and I’m just looking forward to having a swell time under him by making things work out.
With the new faces in the Super Eagles camp now, what would you say will be the future of Nigerian football?
The future is very bright no doubt, I think we should be looking forward to big things in the future. We just have to put everything we’ve got into the big qualifier coming up in March against Ethiopia at home to rekindle our hopes of qualifying for the Nations Cup next year.
You have played for the Super Eagles for around a decade now, aren’t you bothered that you are yet to win a major tournament with the national team. And what are your targets as skipper of the former African champions?
I have always desired to win laurels for the national team and I wanted to put an end to the drought at the last Nations Cup in Angola, but unfortunately I got injured in our group game against Benin Republic. With that setback, we still played to the semi-finals of the tournament but lost out again. This is the time for us to win something. We have a new coach and a young team that is ready to make a statement once again. That’s the motive right now and I hope that will give us the necessary push to succeed in the task ahead. I have done almost everything for the national team and what’s left is to win something before the curtain falls on my career.
Having moved to Fenerbahce of Turkey on loan from Everton, do you miss England at all?
Not really (laughs).
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